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TURKEY CANCELS THE FIRST REGULAR VAN-YEREVAN-VAN FLIGHT FOLLOWING FIERCE OPPOSITION FROM AZERBAIJAN
ARMINFO
Tuesday, April 2, 19:38
Turkey has canceled the first ever scheduled flights to Armenia,
days before the first plane was due to take off, officials have said,
following fierce opposition from Turkey's ally and energy partner
Azerbaijan, Today's Zaman reports.
The source says that the twice-weekly flights between Turkey's eastern
city of Van and the Armenian capital Yerevan were due to begin on
April 3 and, encouraged by a US push for rapprochement, were meant to
boost bilateral tourism and trade. But with just over a week until
the first flight, and with tickets already on sale, Turkey's civil
aviation authority stepped in and ordered the flights to be suspended.
Officials at Turkey's Transportation Ministry confirmed the flights
had been stopped but declined to give a reason. BoraJet, the private
Turkish carrier set to fly the 45-minute route, has also declined
to comment on the stoppage. One BoraJet official twice denied the
Van-Yerevan flights had ever been planned, even though the route was
still available as a booking option on the firm's website on Monday.
Narekavank Tour, a Yerevan-based travel agency which has spent the
last three years organizing the flights together with a Turkish travel
agency in Van, said the reason was political. "The organizers were
keen on staying away from politics. It is very sad and discouraging
that Turkish authorities were not able to do the same and finally
let politics interfere with this promising initiative," it said in
a statement.
Asked if he thought this was due to specific pressure from Azerbaijan,
Armen Hovhannisyan, co-founder of Narekavank Tour, said: "Of course,
it is part of the whole formula, and maybe they have been working
behind the scenes."
Azerbaijan voiced fierce opposition to the flights and last week
Ali Hasanov, a senior official at the president's office in Baku,
said they amounted to support for "the occupant country" and only
prolonged the "occupation."
While commenting on Azerbaijani media reports on launching of Yerevan-
Van flight, Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Ismayil Alper Coskun said
that the Turkish President, Prime Minister, officials and the Speaker
of the Parliament had clearly announced their position on this issue.
"Flights from Yerevan to Turkey are operated by private companies. As
media report, these are commercial flights. Private companies have
no problems in Turkey in carrying out these activities". "No country
supports Azerbaijan's position on Nagorno Karabakh conflict more than
Turkey, which has closed its borders with Armenia. I ask media also to
highlight Turkey's positive steps, not to confuse the people. There
is nothing to worry. Turkey's position on Karabakh problem, Armenia
has not changed," he said.
Today's Zaman also says that while Armenia's national carrier, Armavia,
already operates flights to Istanbul and the coastal city of Antalya,
the BoraJet flights would have been the first by a Turkish carrier
to Armenia, and would have given Armenians easier access to an area
of Turkey they refer to as their "historical homeland". The source
stresses that once home to hundreds of thousands of Armenians,
eastern Turkey is scattered with ancient Armenian historic sites,
including a newly-restored medieval church on the small island of
Akdamar in Lake Van. The city of Van had large Armenian population
prior to World War I.
From: A. Papazian
ARMINFO
Tuesday, April 2, 19:38
Turkey has canceled the first ever scheduled flights to Armenia,
days before the first plane was due to take off, officials have said,
following fierce opposition from Turkey's ally and energy partner
Azerbaijan, Today's Zaman reports.
The source says that the twice-weekly flights between Turkey's eastern
city of Van and the Armenian capital Yerevan were due to begin on
April 3 and, encouraged by a US push for rapprochement, were meant to
boost bilateral tourism and trade. But with just over a week until
the first flight, and with tickets already on sale, Turkey's civil
aviation authority stepped in and ordered the flights to be suspended.
Officials at Turkey's Transportation Ministry confirmed the flights
had been stopped but declined to give a reason. BoraJet, the private
Turkish carrier set to fly the 45-minute route, has also declined
to comment on the stoppage. One BoraJet official twice denied the
Van-Yerevan flights had ever been planned, even though the route was
still available as a booking option on the firm's website on Monday.
Narekavank Tour, a Yerevan-based travel agency which has spent the
last three years organizing the flights together with a Turkish travel
agency in Van, said the reason was political. "The organizers were
keen on staying away from politics. It is very sad and discouraging
that Turkish authorities were not able to do the same and finally
let politics interfere with this promising initiative," it said in
a statement.
Asked if he thought this was due to specific pressure from Azerbaijan,
Armen Hovhannisyan, co-founder of Narekavank Tour, said: "Of course,
it is part of the whole formula, and maybe they have been working
behind the scenes."
Azerbaijan voiced fierce opposition to the flights and last week
Ali Hasanov, a senior official at the president's office in Baku,
said they amounted to support for "the occupant country" and only
prolonged the "occupation."
While commenting on Azerbaijani media reports on launching of Yerevan-
Van flight, Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Ismayil Alper Coskun said
that the Turkish President, Prime Minister, officials and the Speaker
of the Parliament had clearly announced their position on this issue.
"Flights from Yerevan to Turkey are operated by private companies. As
media report, these are commercial flights. Private companies have
no problems in Turkey in carrying out these activities". "No country
supports Azerbaijan's position on Nagorno Karabakh conflict more than
Turkey, which has closed its borders with Armenia. I ask media also to
highlight Turkey's positive steps, not to confuse the people. There
is nothing to worry. Turkey's position on Karabakh problem, Armenia
has not changed," he said.
Today's Zaman also says that while Armenia's national carrier, Armavia,
already operates flights to Istanbul and the coastal city of Antalya,
the BoraJet flights would have been the first by a Turkish carrier
to Armenia, and would have given Armenians easier access to an area
of Turkey they refer to as their "historical homeland". The source
stresses that once home to hundreds of thousands of Armenians,
eastern Turkey is scattered with ancient Armenian historic sites,
including a newly-restored medieval church on the small island of
Akdamar in Lake Van. The city of Van had large Armenian population
prior to World War I.
From: A. Papazian